Data processing system for managing chemical product usage

ABSTRACT

A data processing system is used to manage and track use of chemical product in a washing machine. A detergent dispenser distributes the chemical products (e.g., detergent, rinse agent, and bleach) to the washing machine. The dispenser includes a monitor that detects dispenser data based on distribution of the chemical product by the dispenser. A database is coupled to the dispenser and stores an account identifier and an alignment identifier in association with the dispenser data of the dispenser. The database further stores corporate data in associating with the dispenser data, the account identifier, and the alignment identifier. An analysis application analyzes the dispenser data in relation with the corporate data to characterize use of the chemical product in the chemical application system and provide a feedback loop. The analysis application can limit its analysis to data associated with a given account identifier or a given alignment identifier.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The invention relates generally to storage and processing of datarelated to chemical product usage, and more particularly, to collecting,communicating, and analyzing chemical product usage data based ondistribution of the product by a product dispenser.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Institutional laundry facilities, such as those employed in manylarge hotels, nursing homes, and hospitals, typically employ washingmachines with separate automated detergent dispensers. Generally, theseinstitutional washing machines are larger and wash greater volumes oflaundry over time than standard consumer washing machines used in homes.Typically, a separate, automated cleaning product dispenser is connectedto one or two industrial washing machines to automatically delivercleaning products, such as detergent, bleach, rinse agent, etc.,according to logic designed or programmed into the dispenser.

[0003] In a broader sense, automated chemical product (“chemistry”)dispensers are useful in many different chemical application systems,including cleaning systems relating to laundry operations, warewashingoperations (e.g., a dishwasher), water treatment operations, and pooland spa maintenance, as well as other systems, such as food and beverageoperations and agricultural operations. For example, chemical productsused in a warewashing operation may include detergent, de-ionized water,sanitizers, stain removers, etc. Chemistry used in agriculture mayinclude without limitation pesticides, herbicides, hydration agents, andfertilizers. Other applications of the present invention may be used in,without limitation, dairies and dairy farms, (e.g., in teat dips);breweries; packing plants; pools spas, and other recreational waterfacilities; water treatment facilities, and cruise lines. Other chemicalproducts may include without limitation glass cleaning chemicals, hardsurface cleaners, antimicrobials, germicides, lubricants, watertreatment chemicals, rust inhibitors,

[0004] Automated chemical product dispensers can reduce labor andchemistry costs by automatically delivering predetermined amounts ofchemicals in a proper sequence. Furthermore, some chemical products canbe hazardous in concentrated form; therefore, automated chemical productdispensers reduce the risks of exposure to operators, who wouldotherwise measure and deliver the chemical products manually.

[0005] In a laundry operation, to coordinate the proper delivery ofcleaning product for each washing machine cycle, both the washingmachine and the dispenser are preferably programmed to run a given“formula” for a particular type of item being washed. For example, ifthe laundry operator is washing bed sheets, he or she selects a washingmachine selection corresponding to a set of cycles (i.e., a formula) for“sheets” and selects a separate dispenser setting corresponding to a“sheets” formula of chemical products (e.g., including possiblydetergent, bleach, sanitizer, and rinse agent). Therefore, the dispensersupplies the proper cleaning product (or provides no cleaning product)for appropriate washer cycles, in accordance with the selected formulas.In this manner, for example, detergent is supplied to the washingmachine during the wash cycle and not during the rinse cycle.

[0006] Unfortunately, operator error (i.e., improper formula selectionson one or both of the washing machine and the dispenser) can result inthe cleaning products being supplied to the washing machine during thewrong cycle or not at all. Such errors can result in improperly washedor potentially damaged laundry items. Other costly inefficiencies caninclude washing items without filling the wash basin to capacity, whichwastes water, energy, and cleaning product and increases labor andmaintenance costs.

[0007] In addition, individual institutional laundry accounts tend to begeographically dispersed, requiring many individual field servicemanagers to physically visit individual laundry operations or accountsperiodically, to monitor product usage on a periodic basis at thoseoperations, and to provide the corrective instructions to thecorresponding laundry operators. Typically, this manual method fails toprovide the rapid feedback or the cross-account analysis that can behelpful to laundry operators in managing their operations.

[0008] Accordingly, it is desirable to maintain and analyzeautomatically a real-time or historical log of operational datadetectable or storable by a dispenser or a dispenser-related device,preferably in relation to corporate information, such as work shifts,facility location, hotel occupancy rates, energy costs, etc., so as tofacilitate rapid corrective action. Existing approaches, however, failto provide the capability or capacity of automatically detecting largeamounts of dispenser data, communicating and recording dispenser dataand corporate data to a central database, and analyzing the data toprovide feedback to the laundry operation and/or the dispenser,particularly across an aggregation of multiple accounts within the samecorporation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A communications network coupling one or more chemical dispensersites to a server computer and a database is useful to a corporation inmanaging its chemical product usage, as well as other costs. Forexample, a given hotel corporation operates multiple hotels throughoutthe nation. Each hotel, preferably corresponding to an account, includesone or more laundry operations (e.g., a dispenser site having adispenser and one or more washing machines). The dispenser or detergentvendor operates a server computer and database to which dispenser datafor one or more laundry operations within the corporation are stored.Exemplary dispenser data includes without limitation one or more of thefollowing data types: dispensed detergent amounts; dispensing times,dates, and sequences; water temperature; water flow volumes; chemicalproduct type; machine identifiers; washing machine signals; emptycapsule indications; start/end of formula indications, formulas, andother information originating at the detector site, whether detected bya dispenser or by an associated device (such as a remote temperatureprobe). Corporate data relating to the laundry operation, such asaccount information, alignment information, utility costs, employeeshift information, labor costs, and additional information relating toother aspects of the corporation or laundry operation, can be also bestored and analyzed alone or in combination with dispenser information.

[0010] By collecting and analyzing the dispenser and corporate data inthe database, a dispenser vendor can analyze this data to generateperformance information (such as product usage data) and providefeedback to the customer. For example, a calculation of the number ofpounds of laundry washed per occupied room (“LbsOCR)” can be made from acombination of dispenser data (e.g., the number of loads, whichcorresponds to the number of completed formulas) and corporate data(e.g., the number of occupied rooms). Furthermore, a target can be set(statically or dynamically) for the LbsOCR result, so that LbsOCRresults that are above the target are flagged as “out-of-spec.”“Out-of-spec” results, which may indicate inflated detergent, labor, andutility expenses, for example, can be fed back to the customer to allowthe customer to improve its laundry procedures.

[0011] Furthermore, the analysis may be performed across multipleaccounts, such as multiple accounts within a single corporation ororganizational region, to compare, for example, one account in acorporation with others accounts with the same corporation. An alignmentidentifier is used to relationally group multiple accounts. In thismanner, for example, the LbsOCR of one account in a corporation can becompared against the LbsOCR of other accounts in the corporation todetermine its relative performance. The customer can then use thisinformation to improve the laundry procedures at poorer performingaccounts.

[0012] In accordance with the present invention, the above and otherproblems are solved by providing a monitor at a chemical productdispenser to automatically detect and communicate dispenser data.Real-time or historical dispenser data is communicated to be stored in acentral database in combination with an account identifier, an alignmentidentifier, and other corporate data to facilitate analysis within andacross accounts associated with a laundry operator. Furthermore, alldata associated with a particular alignment identifier (e.g., acorporate identifier, a regional identifier, etc.) may be consolidatedfor analysis, providing, for example, a corporate customer with a broadview of problem trends and overall corporate performance of laundryoperations in its multiple accounts. Furthermore, performance targets,including dynamic performance targets, may be employed to detectperformance data that does not satisfy-acceptable criteria.

[0013] A data processing system for managing use of chemical product ina chemical application system is provided. A chemical product dispenserdistributes the chemical product to the chemical application system. Amonitor module detects dispenser data based on distribution of thechemical product by the chemical product dispenser or some otherdetection mechanism associated with the dispenser or dispenser site. Adatabase is coupled to the chemical product dispenser and stores theaccount identifier in association with the dispenser data of thechemical product dispenser. The database further stores corporate datain associating with the dispenser data and the account identifier. Ananalysis application analyzes the dispenser data in relation with thecorporate data to characterize use of the chemical product in thechemical application system.

[0014] A method and computer program product for managing use ofchemical product in a chemical application system corresponding to afirst customer account identified by an account identifier are provided.The chemical product is distributed to the chemical application systemvia a first chemical product dispenser. The first dispenser data isrecorded based on distribution of the chemical product by the chemicalproduct dispenser. The account identifier is recorded in associationwith the dispenser data of the first chemical product dispenser. Seconddispenser data is monitored from a second chemical product dispensercorresponding to a second customer account. The first dispenser data ofthe first chemical product dispenser is analyzed relative to the seconddispenser data of the second chemical product dispenser to characterizethe use of the chemical product in the chemical application system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015]FIG. 1 depicts a general purpose computer that implements thelogical operations of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016]FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary communications network includingdetergent dispensers coupled to a server computer in an embodiment ofthe present invention.

[0017]FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary topology of dispensers, accounts,and alignments relative to a server-computer in an embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0018]FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary database schema in an embodimentof the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 4A illustrates a second portion of an exemplary databaseschema in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020]FIG. 4B illustrates a third portion of an exemplary databaseschema in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021]FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary corporate summary report for afictional laundry operator in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary unit summary report for afictional laundry operator in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary shift productivity and cost reportsfor a fictional laundry operator in an embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0024]FIG. 8 illustrates exemplary general productivity and cost basisreports for a fictional laundry operator in an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] In the following description of the exemplary embodiment,reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof,and in which is shown by way of illustration the specific embodiment inwhich the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized as structural changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

[0026]FIG. 1 depicts a general purpose computer capable of executing aprogram product embodiment of the present invention. One operatingenvironment in which the present invention is potentially usefulencompasses the general purpose computer. In such a system, data andprogram files may be input to the computer, which reads the files andexecutes the programs therein. Some of the elements of a general purposecomputer are shown in FIG. 1 wherein a processor 101 is shown having aninput/output (I/O) section 102, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 103, anda memory section 104. The present invention is optionally implemented insoftware devices loaded in memory 104 and/or stored on a configuredCD-ROM 108 or storage unit 109 thereby transforming the computer systemin FIG. 1 to a special purpose machine for implementing the presentinvention.

[0027] The I/O section 102 is connected to keyboard 105, display unit106, disk storage unit 109, and disk drive unit 107. Generally, incontemporary systems, the disk drive unit 107 is a CD-ROM driver unitcapable of reading the CD-ROM medium 108, which typically containsprograms 110 and data. Computer program products containing mechanismsto effectuate the systems and methods in accordance with the presentinvention may reside in the memory section 104, on a disk storage unit109, or on the CD-ROM medium 108 of such a system. Alternatively, diskdrive unit 107 may be replaced or supplemented by a floppy drive unit, atape drive unit, or other storage medium drive unit. The network-adapter111 is capable of connecting the computer system to a network via thenetwork link 112. Examples of such systems include SPARC systems offeredby Sun Microsystems, Inc., personal computers offered by IBM Corporationand by other manufacturers of IBM-compatible personal computers, andother systems running a UNIX-based or other operating system. Inaccordance with the present invention, software instructions such asthose directed toward communicating data between a client and a server;detecting product usage data, analyzing data, and generating reports maybe executed by CPU 103, and data such products usage data, corporatedata, and supplemental data generated from product usage data or inputfrom other sources may be stored in memory section 104, or on diskstorage unit 109, disk drive unit 107 or other storage medium unitscoupled to the system.

[0028]FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary communications network includingdetergent dispensers 208 and 209 coupled to a server computer 226 in anembodiment of the present invention. An installation 200 includeswashing machines 206 and 207, a detergent dispenser 208, acontrol/monitor module 210, and a communication device 212 located at alaundry operation associated with a customer account identifier. Aninstallation 202 illustrates a second laundry operation in accordancewith the present invention.

[0029] Generally, FIG. 2A is intended to represent one or more laundryoperations coupled to the network 204. In an alternative embodiment, aninstallation may include multiple dispensers coupled to one or morewashing machines each. Furthermore, although FIG. 2A shows individualcontrol monitors in communication devices for each dispenser, in otherembodiments, multiple dispensers may be coupled to a singlecontrol/monitor module, and a single communications device may be usedto communicate data to and from multiple dispensers. It should also beunderstood that 1 or more dispensers may be associated with a singleaccount, and one or more accounts may be associated with a singlealignment ID (e.g., corporation).

[0030] The detergent dispenser 208 is coupled via hose 234 to thewashing machine 206 and via hose 235 to washing machine 207. Washingmachine 202, for example, is coupled to the dispenser 208 via acommunications link 224. It should be understood that a dispenser canaccommodate many different types of washing machines. Someinstallations, for example, include modern dispensers coupled to olderwashing machines via an analog interface.

[0031] Other detecting devices may be integrated with or used inassociation with the dispenser at the dispenser site within the scope ofthe present invention. For example, a flow meter for detecting waterflow volume through input hose 234 may be used to generate detecteddispenser data for storage in the database. Other examples may include aremote or integrated water temperature detector, a detector fordetermining the actual weight of laundry items in a wash basin, andother detection operations to provide detected dispenser data at thedispenser site.

[0032] In an embodiment of the present invention, the dispenser 208supplies detergent and other cleaning products to the washing machine206. Preferably, the detergent dispenser 208 receives containers ofsolid cleaning products into receptacles 214, 216 and 218. In analternative embodiment of the present invention, four receptacles areprovided by a dispenser. Accordingly, a dispenser having one or morereceptacles for receiving liquid or solid chemical products iscontemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0033] An input hose 220 receives hot water from the facility's hotwater system (not shown). Preferably, the water temperature is 120° F.or greater. The hot water mixes with the solid cleaning product mountedin the detergent dispenser 208 by flowing through the solid cleaningproduct until a required amount of the cleaning product is mixed with ordissolved into the hot water. The amount of cleaning product is measureddirectly using a technique detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,965, entitled“METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING SOLUTIONS”; U.S. Pat. No.4,858,449, entitled “CHEMICAL SOLUTION DISPENSER APPARATUS AND METHOD OFUSING”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,185, entitled “CHEMICAL SOLUTIONDISPENSER APPARATUS AND METHOD OF USING”, all assigned to the assigneeof the present invention.

[0034] After a specified amount of cleaning product is supplied to thewashing machine 206 (i.e., an example of a chemical application system),the dispenser 208 cuts off the cleaning product supply to the washingmachine 206. The washing machine 206 receives the water and cleaningproduct mixture via hose 234, which continues its cycle with thesupplied cleaning product in its basin. The dispenser is then flushedwith fresh water from intake hose 220. The fresh water flows from thedispenser 208 through the hose 234 into the washing machine 206. Thewater and chemistry in the wash basin is applied to the laundry itemsduring the washing machine cycle. After the cycle completes, thewastewater and chemistry are dumped from the basin into the facility'ssewage line via hose 222.

[0035] Thereafter, the next washer cycle is signaled to the dispenser208 from the washing machine 206 via link 224, which preferably consistsof thirteen wires, although other communications links are contemplatedwithin the scope of the present invention. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the digital signal informs the dispenser 208 totransition to the next state in the cleaning product formula. In anembodiment having a washing machine providing analog cycle signals, theanalog signals are preferably converted to digital signals beforetransmission to the dispenser.

[0036] Although a washing machine is an example of a chemicalapplication system, other chemical application systems are contemplatedwithin the scope of the present invention. Other examples include,without limitation, chemical dispensers used in dishwashers; chemicalapplication systems for “clean in place” systems; water sanitizingsystems such as, but not limited to, bath and spa systems; and herbicidedispensers in agricultural settings.

[0037] In an embodiment of the present invention shown in installation200, the control/monitor module 210 is a processor driven control andmonitoring circuit that preferably (1) controls the dispensing ofcleaning product in accordance with selections made by a laundryoperator, and/or (2) detects the amount and sequence of dispensedcleaning product, the signals received from the washing machine overcommunications link 224, the temperature of hot water flowing throughthe dispenser 208, and other parameters including time, date, andduration of each wash/dispense cycle. In an alternative embodiment ofthe present invention, the operation of the control/monitor module 210may be limited to detecting data for communication to the database.Preferably, the control/monitor module 210 also includes a storagemedium, such as a semiconductor memory device or a magnetic or opticalstorage device, for temporarily storing the dispenser data locally andfor storing dispenser system data, such as formulas, dispenser numbers,account numbers, etc. However, the storage medium may be omitted in analternative embodiment, particularly if generally continuouscommunication of dispenser data is made to a remote database or storagemedium.

[0038] The communications device 212 is coupled to the control/monitormodule 210 (1) to receive commands from the communications network 204and (2) to access data detected and stored by the control/monitor module210, including historical detected data and dispenser system data storedon the local storage medium. The communications device 212 may beprogrammed to access the communications network 204, preferably by a LAN(local area network), WAN (wide area network), a dial-up connection, oranother well-known network connection.

[0039] In an embodiment of the present invention, the communicationsdevice 212 periodically accesses a server computer 226 to provide datafor storage in the database 228. As such, the communications device 212preferably accesses real-time data detected by the control/monitormodule 210 and any historical data stored on a local storage medium fortransfer to the database 228. In an alternative embodiment, thecommunications device 212 maintains communications with the servercomputer 226 over the communications network 204 continually; therefore,the local storage medium is unnecessary for storing detected data.Instead, the communications device 212 continually transmits real-timeproduct usage data to the server computer 226. In this embodiment, asmall cache device may nevertheless be employed to accommodate networkcongestion or other communication delays at the communications device212.

[0040] The communications device 212 can also receive commands via thecommunications network 204 to provide a feedback loop to the laundryoperation or the dispenser. These commands are transferred to thecontrol/monitor module 210. Such commands may include formula updates,calibration commands, test commands, alarm commands, interactivecommunications between the laundry operator or service technician andthe dispenser vendor or server computer facility, and other remotecontrol commands. This capability facilitates the management ofmultiple, geographically dispersed laundry operations by allowing theoperator, the service technician, or the dispenser vendor to distributecontrol commands from a central location via the communications network204. An example of the use of the feedback loop involves updating aformula stored in the storage medium of a dispenser.

[0041] The client computer 230 represents a thick or thin client coupledto the server computer 226 via a communications link 234, such as a LAN.The client 230 initiates an analysis application resident on the clientcomputer 230 or resident on the server computer 226 to generate reports,such as report 232 providing analysis of dispenser data and corporatedata recorded in the database 228, and may also include other productusage data derived from a combination of the dispenser data and thecorporate data. Broadly, “product usage data” refers to data relating toproduct usage or use of a chemical application system, which may includewithout limitation chemical application system usage information, laborusage information, utility usage information, procedural errorinformation, and performance information. Furthermore, in one embodimentof the present invention, the client computer 230 initiates commandsthrough the communications network 204 to the communication devices ofinstallation 200 and 202 for remotely managing the laundry operation(e.g., changing formulas).

[0042] A server computer 250 is optionally coupled to the servercomputer 226 to provide corporate data to the database 228. Corporatedata may relate to one or more accounts in association with an alignmentID and may include without limitation labor, energy, water, detergent,and sewage costs, shift personnel identifiers, and the number ofoccupied rooms for given time periods. By communicating the corporatedata automatically from the laundry operator's corporate or accountbusiness systems, manual entry of corporate data can be avoided.However, in an embodiment of the present invention, manual entry iscontemplated, for example, using the client computer 230. Furthermore,the server computer 250 may be linked to other networks via acommunications link 252.

[0043]FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary hub and spoke topology ofdispensers, accounts, and alignments relative to a server computer 250in an embodiment of the present invention. Other topologies, such as adaisy chain topology or a ring topology, are also contemplated withinthe scope of the present invention. The server computer 250 is coupledto multiple accounts (such as a hotel account 276 or hospital account254). Within each account are one or more dispensers (such as dispenser290). Each account may include an alignment identifier to associate itwith other accounts, as indicated by groupings (or “alignmentgroupings”) 258, 260, 262, 264, and 266. The grouping relationships maybe hierarchical (see groupings 258 and 260), or the groupingrelationships may cut across hierarchical boundaries (see grouping 262).Note also that accounts 268 and 270 are not included in a grouping,preferably meaning that no alignment identifier is specified for thesetwo accounts.

[0044] For example, grouping 260 indicates an alignment within ahealthcare and lodging corporation. Accounts 256, 272, 274, 276, 278,280 and 282 are accounts within the healthcare and lodging corporation.Furthermore, grouping 264 indicates a grouping of hospital accountswithin the healthcare and lodging corporation, and a grouping 258indicates an organizational alignment of hotels, such as a regionalalignment (e.g., hotels in the Eastern United States), within thehealthcare and lodging corporation. A grouping 266 indicates analignment within a hospital corporation and includes accounts 254, 286,and 288. The grouping 262 is associated with hospital accounts ingeneral and cuts across boundaries of the two corporate alignments. Thegrouping 262 is useful for analyzing product usage data across a givenindustry, for example.

[0045]FIG. 3 illustrates a first portion of an exemplary database schemain an embodiment of the present invention. Each large box represents adata table used in the exemplary database 228 shown in FIG. 2A. The nameof each data table is label at the top of each box (e.g., “tblAcct”).“Table” generally refers to data arranged in rows and columns. Inrelational database management systems, information is primarily storedin the form of tables, with columns representing individual data fieldsin the table and rows representing individual entries in the table. InFIG. 3, the data fields (i.e., columns) of each table are listed belowthe label of the table.

[0046] A tblAlign table 300 contains information about a group ofaccounts. In a preferred embodiment, each row of the tblAlign table 300corresponds to a given customer that manages one or more laundryaccounts. The data field AlignID is a unique key for each row of thetblAlign table 300. The data field AlignID is an example of an alignmentidentifier useful for analysis of database information for a givencorporation or other organizational category. It should be understoodthat, in an alternative embodiment, multiple levels of alignment ID maybe used within the scope of the present invention. For example, a firstalignment ID may correspond to a corporate customer level, and a secondalignment ID level may correspond to regional divisions within theoverall corporation. The data field AlignName contains a textualdescriptor or label of the business entity corresponding to the tblAligntable entry.

[0047] The data field AlignFdata and AlignLdata, exemplary time periodspecifiers, indicate the first and last dates of a time period for whichvalid data exists in relation to a given AlignID. In this manner, theanalysis application need not search all available data in the databaseto determine whether a requested time period contains valid data for aparticular alignment ID. The label “1”, positioned relative to the datafield AlignID in the tblAlign table 300, and the infinity symbol (:),positioned relative to the data field AlignID in the tblAcct table 302,indicate a one-to-many relationship between the tblAlign table 300 andthe tblAcct table 302.

[0048] A tblAcct table 302 contains information about a given account(e.g., the laundry operations at a particular facility corresponding toa given AlignID). The data field AcctID is a unique key for a givenaccount within the database. The data field AssocID includes a uniqueidentifier representing a key to a tblAssoc table 318. The tblAcct table302 also contains a data field IsActive, which specifies whether theassociated account is currently under contract, currently operational,or some other active status. In a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the data field IsActive is a yes/no parameter, meaning thatthe row is the active row for a particular account, or it is not. ThetblAcct table 302 also contains a data field DateMod which includes thecreation date for the tblAcct table 302. A data field Acct# includes anaccount number assigned to the given account. Preferably, the accountnumber is specified by the detergent vendor, dispenser vendor, or bysome other source, so as to correspond to other corporate data. A datafield AcctName is included in the tblAcct table 302 and specifies atextual identifier for the account (e.g., an individual account of thefictional corporation “MegaHotel Corp.”). The data field AlignIDcorresponds to an AlignID key from tblAlign table 300 to establish arelationship between the two tables.

[0049] The data fields AcctFdata and AcctLdata, exemplary time periodspecifiers, indicate the first and last dates of a time period for whichvalid row data exists in relation to a given AcctID. In this manner, theanalysis application need not search all available data in the databaseto determine whether a requested time period contains valid data for aparticular account ID.

[0050] A tblAlignTgt table 314 specifies the performance targets of thelaundry operation corresponding to an alignment ID stored in data fieldAlignID. The performance targets are used to determine when a particularoperational result is “out-of-spec” (i.e., outside of desired targetparameters). The data field TargetID represents the unique key for eachrow of the tblAlignTgt table 314. The data field IsCurrent indicateswhether the given row of the tblAlignTgt table 314 is current for thevalue stored in the data field AlignID, relating back to the tbLAligntable 300. Because the tblAlignTgt table 314 relates to the tbLAligntable 300 via a data field AlignID, the table-parameters stored in thetblAlignTgt table 314 are assigned for a given alignment (e.g.,corporation). Alternative target parameters can be configured foradditional alignment levels or accounts by way of additional targettables. Furthermore, the target parameters may be changed over timeusing the data field IsCurrent and the data fields StIntDate andEndIntDate, which describe the first and last date of a time periodduring which the associated target parameters are valid.

[0051] The data field LbsOCR defines a target parameter for pounds(lbs.) per occupied room. The data fields S1Lds/Day, S2Lds/Day andS3Lds/Day define target parameters for the number of loads per daywashed during three shifts. The data field Temp defines a targetparameter for the hot water temperature supplied to a washer, preferablyas detected by the dispenser.

[0052] In an embodiment of the present invention, the target parametersare specified with predetermined values that can be updated manually orautomatically over time by adding new rows in the tblAlignTgt table 314.In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, however, thetarget parameters may be a function of other data within the database.For example, by way of a database query, the average LbsOCR may becalculated and entered in the tblAlignTgt table 314 for a particulartime period and alignment ID. In an alternative embodiment, the targetis dynamically set by taking the recent corporate average (i.e., thelast 30 days of detected dispenser data and corporate data) andadjusting it by 20% to set a new target. For example, using a corporateaverage of 14.7 lbs. per occupied room over the past thirty days, adynamic target of 17.64 lbs. per occupied room (14.7*1.2=17.64) is set.Therefore, all accounts have a lbs. per occupied room exceeding 17.64are considered “out-of-spec”.

[0053] A tblCensus table 304 describes occupancy data relating-to aparticular account, as represented by data field AcctID and a particularalignment, as represented by data field AlignID. The tblCensus tablecontains a data field CensusID, which is a unique key for the table. ThetblCensus table 304 also includes a data field SDate and EDate, whichare exemplary time period specifiers defining the start and end date ofa period for which the occupancy data in a given row is valid. In otherwords, if the laundry operator provides occupancy data, as supplied indata field Occpncy, on a weekly basis, then the start and end dateswould define a week. Alternatively, for example, a daily occupancyresult would have start and end dates that are equal or that would spana twenty-four hour period from one day to the next.

[0054] The tblGenInfo table 316 contains information about costs, energyusage, and shift start times, although other general informationparameters may be added within the scope of the present invention. Adata field GenInfoID includes a unique key for each row of thetblGenInfo table 316. The data fields StIntDate, EndIntDate andIsCurrent specify the time period for which a particular row of thetblGenInfo table 316 is valid and whether it is the current entry in thetblGenInfo table 316. The data fields StIntDate and EndIntDate areexemplary time period specifiers. The data field AcctID relates the rowof the table tblGenInfo table 316 to a particular account in the tblAccttable 302. The date of the tblGenInfo table 316 may be entered manuallyor it can be delivered automatically through a computer link to anappropriate source (e.g., a utility server, a hotel server, a corporateserver, etc.).

[0055] The data fields Shift1, Shift2, and Shift3, indicate the starttimes of each work shift. In an alternative embodiment, start and endtimes of each work shift may be included in the tblGenInfo table 316.The data field Labor indicates the cost per hour of the laundryoperation labor force. In an alternative embodiment, labor can vary on aper shift basis or on an hourly basis (e.g., according to shiftpremiums) and may be specified with more detail in the tblGenInfo table316 in additional fields. Utility costs are represented by data fieldsWater, Sewage, and Energy. The cost of water is preferably representedon a per 1,000 gallon basis. The cost of sewage treatment is provided ona per 1,000 gallon basis. The cost of energy is indicated as the totalenergy used in therms by the laundry operation. A therm is a unit usedto measure a quantity of heat and equals 100,000 British thermal units(BTUs). The data field TempRise indicates the number of degrees inFahrenheit or Celsius that the water from the public utility must beheated in order to meet the target water temperature. The data fieldsP1Cost, P2Cost, P3Cost, and P4Cost indicate the cost of cleaning producton a per case basis. Alternative costing measures may be used, includingcost of product on a per capsule basis or on a per measured amountbasis.

[0056] The tblDisp table 306 includes a unique key in data field DispID.The tblDisp table 306 also includes the data field storing in an AcctIDto relate the tblDisp table 306 to an account. A data field Disp# storesa dispenser number assigned to the dispenser within an account. Apassword is stored in the data field Password, which regulates access tothe program logic of the dispenser associated with each entry. Forexample, in order to change formulas at a given dispenser, a fieldservice manager must enter the associated password into a keypad on thedispenser.

[0057] A data field 4thProduct is a yes/no field indicating whether thedispenser supports the dispensing of a fourth product. A data fieldMultFeeds is a yes/no parameter, indicating whether the dispensersupports multiple feeds of a given product per formula. That is, somedispensers support multiple cycles that request the same detergent to bedispensed within a particular formula The data field MultFeeds storesthe indicator of whether the dispenser supports such a capability. Thedata fields DispFdata and DispLdata, exemplary time period specifiers,define the first and last dates for which the data in a given row in thetblDisp table 306 is valid.

[0058] A tblAssoc table 318 includes a unique key in data field AssocID.An identifier of a particular sales district is contained in the datafield DistrictID. A second level of hierarchy in the district iscontained in the data field AreaID and the first and last name of theassociate is stored in the data fields FirstName and LastName.Preferably an associate is a person responsible for managing an account,such as a field service technician or field service manager.

[0059] A tblMach table 308 contains a unique key in data field MachID. Adata field Machine# contains a number identifying the machine (e.g., “1”or “2” in a dispenser that supports up to two machines) for eachdispenser associated with the dispenser identifier in the data fieldDispID of the tblMach table 308. Alternative embodiments of the presentinvention may serve more than two machines. The data field MachWtindicates the capacity of the corresponding machine (e.g., thirty-fivepounds or one hundred pounds). The data field ChartStop indicateswhether the machine supports a command that puts the washing machine onhold, particularly during a bath cycle. A data field MicroMode indicateswhether the dispenser is capable of taking signals in a specific format.Preferably, the specific format specifies both the product that thewashing machine requests as well as the formula. In this fashion, thelaundry operator can merely program the washing machine, for example,for “sheets”, and the washing machine can communicate the correspondingformula identifier to the dispenser, rather than relying on manualsettings on both the washing machine and the dispenser.

[0060] A tblFormulas table 310 contains information about the formulassupported by a particular machine, which is specified by the identifierin the data field MachID. A unique key is stored in the data fieldFormID. A number associated with a particular formula is stored in thedata field Formula#. In a preferred embodiment, the data field Formula#typically includes the numbers 1 through 10; however, the number offormulas need not be limited to ten formulas within the scope of thepresent invention. A data field FrmLkUpID stores a unique identifierused to look up a particular formula name and weight factor in thetblFormLk table 312. The data fields P1Amt, P2Amt, P3Amt, and P4Amtstore amounts of products to be dispensed during requested cycles of thewashing process. P1, P2, P3, and P4 correspond to product numbersassigned to the various receptacles in the dispenser, such asdetergents, bleaches, stain remover and rinse agents. Although only oneamount is illustrated for each product in the tblFormulas table 310 ofFIG. 3, additional amount fields may be added for each product insupport of the multiple feed capability identified in the tblDisp table306. In a preferred embodiment, three amounts are allowed for P1, threeamounts are allowed for P2, one amount is allowed for P3, and threeamounts are allowed for P4.

[0061] A tblSignal table 320 contains information about signals receivedin a given dispenser. A unique key is stored in the data field SignalID.The dispenser ID associated with the dispenser receiving the signal isstored in the data field DispID. The unique key is stored in the datafield ProdID and used to look up product information in the tblPrdLkUptable 322. The data field Signal contains a number for the signalreceived from a given dispenser. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the data fields PFA, PFB, and PFC contain product factorcodes useful in determining the amount of cleaning product dispensed bya given dispenser. In an alternate embodiment, one or more productfactor codes (e.g., PF1-PFn) may be used for each signal. Furthermore,one or more of the illustrated data fields may contain a null value(e.g., representing that the product factor is not used).

[0062] The tblFormLk table 312 contains information relating toparticular formulas supported by a dispenser. The data field FrmLkUpIDis associated with a corresponding ID in the tblFormulas table 310. Thedata field Formula contains a textual or numerical formula name or labelfor a given formula. The data field WtFactor contains an industry andvendor develop factor correlating the weight supported by a particularwasher with a given laundry item. For example, the proper loading of a100 lbs. washing machine basin with sheets is deemed by the industry orvendor to be 90 actual lbs. of dry linen, whereas the proper loading ofa 100 lbs. basin with blankets is 70 lbs. Therefore the WtFactor forsheets is 0.9 and the WtFactor for blankets is 0.7.

[0063] A tblPrdLkUp table 322 provides lookup data for given products.The data field ProdID contains a unique key for each product. The datafield ProdType contains a product number or category relating to aproduct in a vendor's inventory. The data field ProdName contains atextual or numerical label identifying a given product. A data fieldg/Caps indicates the number of grams per capsule of product. The datafield Caps/Case indicates the number of capsules in a case of the givenproduct. A data field EmptyWt indicates the weight of an empty capsule.A data field DisplayNm indicates a name to be displayed on an LED (lightemitting diode) display on a dispenser.

[0064]FIG. 4A illustrates a second portion of an exemplary databaseschema in an embodiment of the present invention. A tblDataArch table400 contains exemplary detected dispenser data communicated by adispenser and communicated to the database. The data field ID is aunique key for each tblDataArch table 400 entry. A data field DateArchcontains the date of the recording of a given row of the tblDataArchtable 400. Date fields AcctID and AlignID correspond to unique keys ofthe tblAcct table 302 and the tblAlign table of FIG. 3. The data fieldsDate and Time correspond to the date and time of a given event in thedispenser. The data field Date Time is preferably a concatenation orother combination of the date and time field entries. The data fieldsMachID, FormID, and SignalID correspond to the unique keys in thetblMach table 308, the tblFormulas table 310, and the tblSignal table320 of FIG. 3. The data field Amount preferably contains a detectedamount of product dispensed for a particular event or for a given event.A data field Code contains an event code to identify a particular event,as described in the tblEvntCde table 402. A data field Inf containsinformational data such as end of formula, start of formula, capsuleempty signals, and other informational data detected by the dispenser.

[0065] A tblEvntCde table 402 includes an EvntCode data field associatedwith the data field Code in tblDataArch table 400. A data field Textincludes text relating to the event code. The text may be displayed in areport to improve the readability of archived data.

[0066] Table 1 illustrates exemplary dispenser data communicated to adatabase of an embodiment of the present invention. Dispenser data canalso include information based on detection of water temperature from aremote or integrated temperature probe, detection of the actual weightof laundry items in a wash basin, detection of water flow volume througha hose, and other detection operations at the dispenser site. In oneembodiment of the present invention, code 68 indicates “start offormula”, code 4 indicates a dispensing event, and code 36 indicates an“end of formula”. Other codes are contemplated within the scope of thepresent invention, including a code indicating an empty product capsule.Furthermore, in an embodiment of the present invention, the “INFO” fieldindicates either water temperature (in association with codes 68 and 4)or complete formula time (in association with code 36). TABLE 1Exemplary Dispenser Data ACCNT# DISP# DATE TIME MACH# FORM# PROD# AMOUNTINFO CODE 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 2:44:00AM 1 6 1 60 120 68 98494825 1Apr. 1, 1998 2:56:00AM 1 6 4 4 122 4 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 2:57:00AM 16 3 8 13 36 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 3:22:00AM 1 1 1 120 116 68 984948251 Apr. 1, 1998 3:31:00AM 1 1 2 25 118 4 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 19983:49:00AM 1 1 4 4 120 4 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 3:49:00AM 1 1 3 8 27 3698494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 4:07:00AM 1 1 1 120 122 68 98494825 1 Apr. 1,1998 4:16:00AM 1 1 2 25 116 4 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 4:33:00AM 1 1 4 4118 4 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 4:34:00AM 1 1 3 8 27 36 98494825 1 Apr. 1,1998 4:42:00AM 1 1 1 120 120 68 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 4:52:00AM 1 1 225 122 4 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 5:10:00AM 1 1 4 4 116 4 98494825 1 Apr.1, 1998 5:10:00AM 1 1 3 8 28 36 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 5:29:00AM 1 4 1125 118 68 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 5:40:00AM 1 4 2 25 120 4 98494825 1Apr. 1, 1998 5:56:00AM 1 4 3 0 27 36 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 6:16:00AM 12 1 100 122 68 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 6:26:00AM 1 2 2 18 116 4 984948251 Apr. 1, 1998 6:44:00AM 1 2 4 4 118 4 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 6:45:00AM1 2 3 8 29 36 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 7:41:00AM 1 1 1 120 120 6898494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 7:51:00AM 1 1 2 25 122 4 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 19988:08:00AM 1 1 4 4 116 4 98494825 1 Apr. 1, 1998 8:08:00AM 1 1 3 8 27 36

[0067]FIG. 4B illustrates a third portion of an exemplary databaseschema in an embodiment of the present invention. A tblFieldStp table404 includes information captured by a field service technician at anaccount site. A data field FSID is a unique key in the tblFieldStp table404. A data field AcctID is a unique key from the tblAcct table 302 ofFIG. 3. A data field Date contains the date of a given field stop by atechnician. Data fields InvP1, InvP2, InvP3, and InvP4 contain dataentered into a dispenser or into a corporate database that can becommunicated to the database of an embodiment of the present invention,representing the inventory of products P1, P2, P3 and P4 at a givenaccount. Data field AddP1, AddP2, AddP3, and AddP4 represent the amountof given products shipped to an account, preferably received from acorporate database.

[0068] A tblFSData table 406 contains data corresponding to eachdispenser serviced during a field stop. FSDataID is a unique ID in thetblIFSData table 406. The data field FSID corresponds to a unique key ofthe tblFieldStp table 404. The data field DispID corresponds to a uniquekey of the tblDisp table 306 of FIG. 3. Data fields P1Wt, P2Wt, P3Wt,and P4 Wt contain information recorded by a technician as to the amountof product left in a capsule of a given product during the field stop.

[0069] A data field Mach# includes a machine number for the washingmachine connected to a given dispenser. The machine number stored indata field Mach# corresponds to the machine from which tests areperformed by the technician in the basin of the washing machine.Preferably, the technician extracts a sample of wash water from thebasin of the machine to test the accuracy of the dispenser. A data fieldForm# indicates the current formula being dispensed by the dispenser toa given machine. A data field AlkTitrn indicates the results of atitration procedure measuring the alkalinity of the water in the basinof the machine under test in parts per million (PPM). A data fieldCL2Titrn indicates the results of a titration procedure measuring thechlorine in the water in the basin of the machine under test in PPM. Adata field pH indicates the acidity of the water in the wash basin. Adata field Hours indicates the number of hours for which the dispenserhas run in a given account. A data field Notes contains any notesrecorded by the technician during the field stop. A data field PrevDateindicates the last time a field stop was made at a given dispenser. Datafields PrevP1Wt, PrevP2Wt, PrevP3Wt, and PrevP4Wt indicate the amount ofproduct left in a capsule for each product during the last field stop.

[0070]FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary corporate summary report 500 for afictional laundry operator in an embodiment of the present invention.The report 500 is generated by an analysis application executing withinthe client/server architecture illustrated in FIG. 2A. Examples ofanalysis applications include small-scale and medium-scale databaseapplications written in Microsoft Access running on a client computerbut can also include large server-based database applications, patternrecognition applications, and neural net systems using minicomputers andmainframes. The dispenser data and/or corporate data used to generatethe report is preferably retrieved from the database 228 of FIG. 2A,analyzed by the analysis application, and displayed to a user on theclient computer 230. Alternatively, the report may be saved as adocument file or printed out in hard copy.

[0071] Various elements of the report 500 correspond to data fieldsdescribed by database schema of FIGS. 3 and 4 or are derived from datain such data fields. The report 500 relates to a summary of laundryoperations (i.e., accounts) for a fictional hotel corporation. The hotelcorporation in this example owns or manages multiple hotel facilities,each hotel facility having a corresponding account ID. Furthermore, eachaccount reported in report 500 shares a common alignment ID to indicate,for example, that the individual accounts are managed by the same hotelcorporation.

[0072] In an alternative report (not shown), summary and historicalreports are available on an account-by-account basis, allowing thelaundry operator a means of tracking and detecting wash errors and costissues for an individual account. However, some laundry operationproblems are not apparent on an account-by-account basis, and onlyreveal themselves when analyzed across multiple accounts. Therefore, acorporate summary, spanning multiple accounts corresponding to a singlealignment ID, is useful in identifying trends and corporate-wide laundryoperation problems. Accordingly, the hotel corporation can effectivelymanage its laundry operations on both an account-by-account basis and acorporate-wide basis to manage costs and improve efficiency. Suchinformation, for example, may be useful in developing training programsfor laundry employees, negotiating washer and dispenser maintenanceagreements, negotiating chemical product supply agreements, andcoordinating scheduled maintenance throughout a corporation's multiplelaundry operations.

[0073] The exemplary report 500 shows summary data relating to a timeperiod from May 1, 1999 to May 30, 1999, as shown in report section 502.The number of days in the time period is also shown. The number of units(“# of Units”) field shows the number of accounts included in thesummary report, as grouped according to their alignment ID. The“occupancy” label shows the number of occupied rooms within all of thecorporation's accounts (e.g., individual hotel facilities) included inthe summary. The “Laundry Lbs” label shows the number of pounds oflaundry washed during the time period. The “Lbs/Occupied Rm” label showsa calculation based on the “Occupancy” and “Laundry Lbs” fields. TheLbs/Occupied Rm result is an example of product usage data derived froma combination of dispenser data and corporate data, demonstrating anadvantage of an embodiment to the present invention. A dispenser iscapable of detecting the number of washes performed during a particulartime period by virtue of the number of times it provides cleaningproduct to a washing machine. This dispenser data can be communicated tothe database via a communications device. In addition, the number ofoccupied rooms corresponding to a particular account is corporate dataused to manage the business operations within a corporation. Thiscorporate data may also be communicated to the database, for example,via a communications link from a business server computer.

[0074] Typically, the pounds of laundry washed is estimated based on thecapacity of each washing machine unit in an account and the number ofwashes performed, which are examples of dispenser data. A method ofestimating the pounds of laundry washed calculates the product of thewashing machine size (e.g., 100 lbs.) times the WtFactor assigned togiven type of laundry item. Over a period of time, the estimated poundsof laundry in each washed load are summed. In an alternative embodiment,a laundry operation having the capability of actually weighing the itemsin each load of laundry, perhaps by having a weighing mechanism withinthe washer itself, is also contemplated within the present invention.

[0075] The bar graph 504 shows the average occupancy (in units of 1,000occupied rooms) on a monthly basis over a one year period. The bar graph504 data is generated from real-time or historical occupancy data, whichis an example of corporate data, received from the corporation andentered manually or automatically into the database. Bar graph 506illustrates the pounds per occupied room on a monthly basis over a oneyear period. The data reflected in bar graph 506 is also derived fromdispenser data and corporate data recorded in the database.

[0076]FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary unit summary report for afictional corporation in an embodiment of the present invention. Theunit summary report 600 is generated by an analysis application runningon the client computer or the server computer in an embodiment of thepresent invention. The bar chart 602 shows the number of units (i.e.,accounts) having a calculated average pounds of laundry per occupiedroom. The bars indicated by region 614 indicate the number of units thatare “out of spec” or outside of a desired threshold or target, asdefined-by target parameters from an alignment target table or accounttarget table in database 228 of FIG. 2A. Such information is useful tocontrol energy costs, for example. If a washing machine is not being runwith full loads (as detectable in graphs 506 and 602 and report 608),energy needed to heat the water and run the washing machines is wastedon extra loads.

[0077] The report section shown at 608 profiles the pounds of laundrywashed per occupied room, including the corporate average, the number ofunits out of spec, the number of units out of spec for more than ninetydays, and the potential utility and labor savings available if theout-of-spec units were brought within target parameters. The “potentialsavings” result demonstrates a particularly useful advantage incombining dispenser data and corporate data into a central repository ordatabase for analysis of remotely distributed laundry operations.Furthermore, if the out-of-spec units are distributed across multipleaccounts, the magnitude of potential utility and labor savings would nothave been as significant as they are when analyzed on a corporate-widebasis. The use of an alignment identifier allows analysis of selectedaligned accounts across the entire corporation, an organizationalcomponent, or a geographical region, and amplifies managementpossibilities on a corporate-wide basis.

[0078] The bar chart 604 shows the number of units having a givenaverage hot water temperature within a corporation. Hot water is aparticularly crucial factor in the efficient performance of cleaningproducts and washing machines. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, a hot water temperature of 120° F. or greater is preferredfor optimal cleaning performance, particularly for bleaching and oilremoval. The bar chart 604 provides means for analyzing the hot watertemperature on a corporate-wide basis. The results indicated by region616 indicate the number of units that are out-of-spec relative to hotwater temperature. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention,hot water temperature is measured by the dispenser as it flows throughthe dispenser and mixes with the solid cleaning products, although in analternative embodiment, the hot water temperature may be measuredseparately by a remote sensor and provided to the database as corporatedata.

[0079] Procedural error bar graph 606 and a report section 612 show thenumber of units having a given average of loads with procedural errors.A procedural error results when a dispenser setting and the washersetting are not set to correspond to the same wash item type. Aprocedural error is detected when the dispenser, being set to a givensetting, expects washer signals in accordance with the selected formula.If the washer fails to provide the expected signals (e.g., if thedispenser is expecting a bleach signal from the washer, but neverreceives it), a procedural error will be flagged and communicated to thedatabase. The analysis application sums the number of units having anaverage given number of errors during a specified time period andgenerates the bar graph 606 to illustrate the results. The resultsindicated by region 618 indicate the number of units that areout-of-spec relative to the average percentage of loads with proceduralerrors. The report 612 illustrates the corporate average across all or apredetermined set of accounts. The report 612 also indicates the numberof units that are out-of-spec and the number of units that areout-of-spec for greater than ninety days.

[0080] An alternative method of detecting procedural errors uses timingdiscrepancies between an actual formula time and an expected formulatime. For example, when the washer program is correct a formula mayrequire 25 minutes to complete from signal 1 to signal 3. If a wrongformula is used on the washer (relative to the setting on thedispenser), the washer program may only require 20 minutes (e.g.,without a bleach cycle). This discrepancy is flagged as a proceduralerror.

[0081]FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary shift productivity and cost reportsfor a fictional laundry account in an embodiment of the presentinvention. A corresponding report may be generated for an entirecorporation or other organization subdivision, in accordance with thealignment ID. The report 700 includes individual reports, such assummary report section 702, a pie chart 706, and shift productivity bargraphs 704, 708 and 710. A legend 712 is also illustrated in report 700.The report section 702 includes a time period, the number of daysincluded in the time period, the total occupancy during the time period,the pounds of laundry washed during the time period, the average watertemperature during the time period, the number of wash loads during thetime period, and the number of procedural errors detected during thetime period. Using corporate data available from the database, incombination with industry accepted formulas or other actual corporatedata, a pie chart 706 illustrates the allocation of expenses relating tothe time period shown in report section 702.

[0082] The bar graph 704 illustrates the number of loads per day washedduring the time period and divided by shifts. As shown by the legend712, the bar graph 704 shows both the average loads washed per dayduring the time period, and a historical average calculated over thelife of the account. The bar graph 708 illustrates the number ofprocedural errors detected per day on a per shift basis. As shown by thelegend 712, the bar graph 708 shows both the average errors occurringduring the time period, and a historical average calculated over thelife of the account. In bar graph 710, the percentage of proceduralerrors is shown on a per shift basis. As shown by the legend 712, thebar graph 710 shows both the average percentage of errors occurringduring the time period, and a historical average calculated over thelife of the account.

[0083]FIG. 8 illustrates exemplary general productivity and cost basisreports for a fictional laundry account in an embodiment of the presentinvention. The report 800 includes bar graphs 802, 804, 806, 810 and812. The bar graph 802 illustrates the pounds of laundry washed peroccupied room. The bar graph 804 shows the cost of labor per occupiedroom associated with the laundry operation. The bar graph 806illustrates the number of procedural errors per occupied room. The bargraph 810 illustrates the cost of chemistry per occupied room. The bargraph 812 illustrates the cost of utilities per occupied room. Asindicated by legend 808, the bar graphs 802, 804, 806, 810 and 812include actual results (i.e., detected over the time period shown inreport section 702 of FIG. 7), an average of a particular account, theoverall corporate average, and the corporate target.

[0084] The report section 814 summarizes the cost basis used in thereport 800. The components of the report section 814 illustrateexemplary corporate data elements recorded in the database. The laborcost basis, for example, may be an average labor cost, or may be furtherbroken out into specific labor costs for the laundry operators or forindividual shifts. Likewise, the water, sewage and energy costs may beaverages or estimates, or they may be updated on a real time basis. Thetemperature rise data element indicates the differential between thewater temperature received from a public utility and the hot watertemperature detected in a dispenser.

[0085] The embodiments of the invention described herein are implementedas logical steps in one or more computer systems. The logical operationsof the present invention are implemented (1) as a sequence ofprocessor-implemented steps executing in one or more computer systemsand (2) as interconnected machine modules within one or more computersystems. The implementation is a matter of choice, dependent on theperformance requirements of the computer system implementing theinvention. Accordingly, the logical operations making up the embodimentsof the invention described herein are referred to variously asoperations, steps, objects, or modules.

[0086] The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theinvention. Embodiments of the present invention; however, may be appliedin areas other than laundry operations. For example, in an agricultureapplications, a herbicide dispenser may be supply herbicide to achemical application system, such as an irrigation system or a herbicidesprayer on a crop duster or tractor. The herbicide dispenser data (e.g.,timing, amount, and identity of herbicide being dispensed) may becombined with corporate data (e.g., chemical costs, labor costs, fieldproduction results, weather conditions, soil conditions, and type ofplants) to manage chemical usage. Furthermore, sanitation systems in thefood and beverage industries and water treatment industries are alsocontemplated within the scope of the present invention. As manyembodiments of the invention can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claimshereinafter appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. A data processing system for managing use ofchemical product in a chemical application system corresponding to afirst customer account identified by an account identifier, the systemcomprising: a chemical product dispenser distributing the chemicalproduct, to the chemical application system; a monitor module detectingdispenser data based on distribution of the chemical product by thechemical product dispenser; a database coupled to the chemical productdispenser and storing the account identifier in association with thedispenser data of the chemical product dispenser; the database furtherstoring corporate data in associating with the dispenser data and theaccount identifier; and an analysis application analyzing the dispenserdata in relation with the corporate data to characterize use of thechemical product in the chemical application system.
 2. The dataprocessing system of claim 1 further comprising: an alignment identifierassociated with a plurality of customer accounts, including the firstcustomer account, wherein the analysis application is capable oflimiting analysis to database data sharing a common alignmentidentifier.
 3. The data processing system of claim 1 further comprising:a time period specifier associated with one or more tables of corporatedata to indicate the period of time for which the corporate data isvalid.
 4. The data processing system of claim 1 further comprising: atime period specifier associated with one or more tables of dispenserdata to indicate the period of time for which the dispenser data isvalid.
 5. The data processing system of claim 1 wherein the dispenserdata includes detected dispenser data detected by the monitor module anddispenser system data stored in the dispenser, both types of data beingcommunicated from the chemical product dispenser to the database.
 6. Thedata processing system of claim 1 wherein the corporate data relates tobusiness operations of a facility at which the chemical applicationsystem is operating.
 7. The data processing system of claim 6 whereinthe corporate data describes occupancy of a facility at which thechemical application system is operating.
 8. The data processing systemof claim 6 wherein the corporate data describes a utility cost of afacility at which the chemical application system is operating.
 9. Thedata processing system of claim 6 wherein the corporate data describes alabor cost of a facility at which the chemical application system isoperating.
 10. The data processing system of claim 6 wherein thecorporate data describes operator shift times of a facility at which thechemical application system is operating.
 11. A data processing systemfor managing use of chemical product in a chemical application systemcorresponding to a first customer account identified by an accountidentifier, the system comprising: a first chemical product dispenserdistributing the chemical product to the chemical application system; amonitor recording dispenser data based on distribution of the chemicalproduct by the first chemical product dispenser; a database coupled tothe first chemical product dispenser and storing the account identifierin association with the dispenser data of the first chemical productdispenser; the database further storing dispenser data of a secondchemical product dispenser coupled and corresponding to a secondcustomer account; an alignment identifier identifying a peerrelationship between the first and second customer accounts; and ananalysis application analyzing dispenser data of the first and secondcustomer accounts, both associated with the alignment identifier, tocharacterize the use of the chemical product in the first chemicalapplication system.
 12. The system of claim 11 wherein the databasefurther stores corporate data in relation to the dispenser dataassociated with the first account identifier.
 13. The system of claim 11wherein the database further stores corporate data in relation to thedispenser data associated with the first alignment identifier.
 14. Thesystem of claim 11 wherein the analysis application uses the alignmentidentifier to analyze data corresponding to the first and secondaccounts in the database in exclusion of other data stored in thedatabase.
 15. The system of claim 11 wherein the dispenser data includesdata detected by the dispenser.
 16. The system of claim 11 wherein thedispenser data includes data detected by a remote detector remotelycoupled to the dispenser.
 17. The system of claim 11 wherein thedispenser data include data detected by a remote detector remotelycoupled to the chemical application system.
 18. A data processing systemfor managing use of chemical product in a chemical application systemcorresponding to a first customer account identified by an accountidentifier, the chemical application system receiving the chemicalproduct from a chemical product dispenser, the system comprising: adatabase coupled to the chemical product dispenser and storing theaccount identifier in association with the dispenser data of thechemical product dispenser; the database further storing corporate datain relation to the dispenser data associated with the first accountidentifier; an analysis application analyzing the dispenser data inrelation with the corporate data to characterize use of the chemicalproduct in the chemical application system. a target parameterspecifying a desired data characteristic for product usage relating tothe customer account, wherein the analysis application identifies datathat fails to satisfy the target parameters.
 19. The data processingsystem of claim 18 further comprising: a target parameter associatedwith a desired dispenser data characteristic relating to the customeraccount, wherein the analysis application identifies dispenser data thatfails to satisfy the target parameter.
 20. The data processing system ofclaim 18 further comprising: a target parameter associated with adesired corporate data characteristic relating to the customer account,wherein the analysis application identifies corporate data that fails tosatisfy the target parameter.
 21. The data processing system of claim 18further comprising: a target parameter associated with a desired productusage characteristic relating to the customer account and being derivedfrom both corporate data and dispenser data, wherein the analysisapplication identifies product usage data that fails to satisfy thetarget parameter.
 22. The data processing system of claim 18 furthercomprising: a target parameter generated as a function of historicaldetected dispenser data recorded in the database, wherein the analysisapplication identifies dispenser data that fails to satisfy the targetparameter.
 23. The data processing system of claim 18 furthercomprising: a target parameter derived from an average of historicalcorporate data recorded in the database, wherein the analysisapplication identifies corporate data that fails to satisfy the targetparameter.
 24. The data processing system of claim 18 wherein the targetparameter is generated as a function of historical product usage dataderived from corporate data and dispenser data recorded in the database,wherein the analysis application identifies product usage data thatfails to satisfy the target parameter.
 25. The data processing system ofclaim 18 further comprising: a target parameter derived from an averageof historical detected dispenser data recorded in the database, whereinthe analysis application identifies dispenser data that fails to satisfythe target parameter.
 26. The data processing system of claim 18 furthercomprising: a target parameter derived from an average of historicalcorporate data recorded in the database, wherein the analysisapplication identifies corporate data that fails to satisfy the targetparameter.
 27. The data processing system of claim 18 furthercomprising: a target parameter derived from an average of historicalproduct usage data derived from corporate data and dispenser datarecorded in the database, wherein the analysis application identifiesproduct usage data that fails to satisfy the target parameter.
 28. Amethod of managing use of chemical product in a chemical applicationsystem corresponding to a first customer account identified by anaccount identifier, the method comprising: distributing the chemicalproduct to the chemical application system via a first chemical productdispenser; recording first dispenser data based on distribution of thechemical product by the chemical product dispenser; recording theaccount identifier in association with the dispenser data of the firstchemical product dispenser; storing second dispenser data from a secondchemical product dispenser corresponding to a second customer account;and analyzing the first dispenser data of the first chemical productdispenser relative to the second dispenser data of the second chemicalproduct dispenser to characterize the use of the chemical product in thechemical application system.
 29. The method of claim 28 furthercomprising: recording an alignment identifier associated with the firstand second customer accounts; limiting analysis of the first dispenserdata and the second dispenser data in accordance with the alignmentidentifier in exclusion of other recorded dispenser data.
 30. The methodof claim 28 further comprising: recording corporate data associated withthe first customer account; analyzing the first dispenser data inrelation with the corporate data to characterize use of the chemicalproduct in the chemical application system.
 31. The method of claim 28further comprising: recording corporate data associated with the firstcustomer account; generating product usage data from a combination ofthe corporate data and the first dispenser data; and analyzing theproduct usage data to characterize use of the chemical product in thechemical application system.
 32. A computer-readable medium havingcomputer-executable instructions for performing the operations recitedin claim
 28. 33. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave by acomputing system and encoding a computer program for performing theoperations recited in claim
 28. 34. A method of managing use of chemicalproduct in a first customer account identified by an account identifier,the method comprising: collecting dispenser data from a first chemicalproduct dispenser; collecting corporate data corresponding to theaccount identifier collecting dispenser data from a second chemicalproduct dispenser of a second customer account; and analyzing thedispenser data of the first chemical product dispenser relative to thecorporate data and the dispenser data of the second chemical productdispenser to characterize the use of the chemical product in the firstcustomer account.
 35. The method of claim 34 further comprising:distributing results of the analyzing operation as feedback to the firstcustomer account to facilitate management of chemical product usage. 36.Thc method of claim 34 further comprising: distributing results of theanalyzing operation as feedback to the first customer account tominimize procedural errors relating to the chemical application system.37. The method of claim 34 further comprising: distributing results ofthe analyzing operation as feedback to the first customer account tominimize unnecessary expenses caused by excessive loads per occupiedroom.
 38. A computer-readable medium having computer-executableinstructions for performing the operations recited in claim
 34. 39. Acomputer data signal embodied in a carrier wave by a computing systemand encoding a computer program for performing the operations recited inclaim 34.